Microsoft PowerPoint

PowerPoint does not let you set a video as the slide background itself. Instead, you place the video on the slide behind your text and let it play, which Microsoft's own support articles describe. This guide covers PowerPoint in Microsoft 365 on Windows and Mac, and says where the Mac menus differ.

Steps

1. 1

   Match the slide size to your screen

   On the Design tab, choose Slide Size and pick Widescreen (16:9) or Standard (4:3), or Custom Slide Size for another shape. In older Mac versions this is under File, Page Setup. Then download the BeforePreach file in the same shape.

2. 2

   Use a still as the background

   On the Design tab, choose Format Background. Pick Picture or texture fill, click Insert and choose the JPG. Click Apply to All to put it on every slide.

3. 3

   Insert the loop

   Go to the slide, and on the Insert tab choose Video and insert it from a file on your computer. Drag the corners until the video covers the whole slide. A file in the slide's shape fits exactly.

4. 4

   Send it behind the text

   With the video selected, go to the Home tab, choose Arrange, then Send to Back. Your lyrics or title now sit on top.

5. 5

   Start it automatically and loop it

   On the Playback tab, set Start to Automatically and select Loop until Stopped. The video plays as soon as the slide appears and repeats until you move on.

6. 6

   Hide the controls and keep it quiet

   On the Slide Show tab, clear Show Media Controls so no play bar appears when the mouse moves. BeforePreach loops have no sound. To be sure, use the volume control under the selected video to turn it off.

7. 7

   Use it on every lyric slide

   Copy the video onto each slide that needs it, or place it on the Slide Master. Microsoft notes that the video restarts from the beginning when the slide changes, so a slow, calm loop makes that restart hard to notice.

8. 8

   Play the countdown

   Add a slide just for the countdown, insert the countdown MP4 and make it fill the slide. Set Start to Automatically and leave Loop until Stopped off, so it stops at zero. Five minutes before the service, start the slide show from that slide.

Tips

• Microsoft recommends modern video formats such as H.264. BeforePreach loops are MP4 files in H.264 already.
• Choose text-safe loops behind lyrics so the words stay clear.
• The 1080p file is enough for most projectors and keeps the presentation file smaller.

Checked against: learn.microsoft.com, support.microsoft.com, support.microsoft.com, support.microsoft.com, support.microsoft.com